Starting Over
by Sledge91
Summary: Marie Kanker is still head over heels in love but also down in the dumps over Edd (Double-D). She finds out that Kevin is throwing a party and invited the Ed's. Marie sees this as her last chance to win over Double-D's affections, but she wants to do it right. There is also big change on the horizon...What will her overall future behold? Rated T for coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is a story for all the Ed, Edd, n' Eddy fans out there and especially for the fans of Edd x Marie, my favorite pairing! I've read many other Edd x Marie fics that are just brilliant! I've heard some people express that we were running out of new Edd x Marie fics, so I thought I would take the liberty of putting my chips on the table so-to-speak.

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I have to admit, this is my first fanfic and as a writer, I'm not very experienced but I think I have it down pretty solid. So if there are any grammatical or spelling errors, problems with continuity or whatever, please don't hesitate to inform me. I also encourage and appreciate any kind of constructive criticism. Like what I could have done here or there in terms of better writing. Reviews/comments/follows/favs are greatly appreciated! Enjoy the story!

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Ages:

Ed, Kevin, Rolf, Lee/16 (Juniors)

Edd, Eddy, Marie, Nazz, Jonny/15 (Sophomores)

May, Sarah, Jimmy/14 (Freshmen)

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**Chapter 1: My Only Desire**

It's 2:55pm at Peach Creek High. The students in room 212 are anxiously counting down the minutes, each of which seem like an eternity, before they are officially out of school for winter break. Kevin, the BMX-obsessed meat-head, is growing impatient.

"Sheesh! Could the clock be any slower!?" Kevin exclaimed, "I need to get my party on! Are you dorks coming tonight or what?" He asked, referring to Ed and Eddy. Ed wasn't paying attention as he was scribbling nonsense onto a piece of paper, giggling happily as always.

Eddy turned his attention to Kevin, "Are you Kiddin', Kev? Of course we are! I'm hoping you invited plenty o' dames for tonight!" Eddy said as he leaned back in his chair, scanning the room with an arrogant smirk on his face to see if any 'dames' had heard what he'd said. His stomach tightened when he noticed the Kanker sisters, immediately regretting having spoken too loud and hoping they had not heard him. Unfortunately for him, Lee Kanker had been listening to their entire conversation. She had been listening in on everything Eddy had been saying since the class started.

"Hear that girls?" Lee asked, directed at her sisters, "Sounds like 'Mat Hoffman' over there is havin' a party tonight!"

"I love parties!" Shouted Lee's dim-witted little sister May as she held mirror in front of her face, fixing her hair, "Is it someone's birthday? And Mat Hoffman's gonna be there!?"

"No, you moron!" Lee said, slapping the mirror out of May's hand, "It's a high school party at Kevin's house and the Ed's will be there, so I'll be damned if we miss it!"

The volume of Lee's voice caused her other younger sister, Marie, to stir in her sleep; disrupting her usual last period ritual of spending the whole time sleeping on her desk. She remained unresponsive. Lee took note of this and decided to shake her sleepy sister awake.

"Marie…MARIE! Did you hear what I said?" Marie shot Lee an annoyed look.

"Hear what? You flappin' that yap of yours!?" Marie growled as she put her head back down.

"Kevin's having a party tonight and the Eds are gonna be there!" May said, picking up her mirror.

"And we're gonna crash that party come hell or high water!" Lee added.

Marie tilted her head back up, mouth still behind her arms, to look around and eventually directed her attention to Kevin and Eddy.

"Oh yeah, what about Double-D? He comin' er what?" Inquired Kevin.

The very mention of 'Double-D' was enough to get the butterflies in Marie's stomach into action. She closed her eyes for moment and took a deep breath. Marie was still obsessed with Double-D. She loved him with all her heart. She had loved him since they first met when they were both 12, when he was totally covered in mud, along with Ed and Eddy, in that dingy forest near her trailer park. But lately, she had become more and more depressed. She also had been losing interest in attacking the Eds, but kept it up only to make face with her sisters. Marie knew her sisters got off on it and so did she, to a lesser extent, but initially she did it because it was the only way she knew how to show Double-D how much she really liked him, even though it clearly didn't seem to resonate with him…and she was beginning to realize that. Knowing this, she felt she had no other options and was devoid of any alternative strategy. Marie was at a loss.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll go." Eddy replied, "He's wound up tighter than a virgin's ass and he needs to let loose!" Kevin and Eddy both burst out laughing at Eddy's slight summary of Double-D. Even Marie let out a small giggle, while simultaneously cringing at the fact that Eddy, of all people, managed to make her laugh. She shook her head, half-grinning behind her arms.

Marie was thinking about how long it had been in her quest for Double-D's affection and that she still hadn't gotten anywhere with him. 3 years of cat and mouse…and for nothing. She didn't understand what she was doing wrong. She was 15 and hadn't had a boyfriend yet. She could have if she wanted to though. Marie's transition through puberty had so far been good to her; she had grown a decent amount, catching up to her sister Lee, just an inch or two short; her face had become more feminine as opposed to the more round face she had when she was younger; her breasts had hit a solid C cup and her hips became very curvy. Not to mention her blue hair had grown a little bit past her shoulders. It was still poofy and still covered her right eye, but it still managed itself pretty well and looked nice for what it was. She had even changed her attire with sleeveless band t-shirts, a red and black miniskirt and black leggings; and she alternated between Harley Davidson boots and flip-flops. She had also added black gauges to her ears. The black sweatband on her left wrist was the only thing that hadn't changed, as it was somehow very crucial to her appearance.

So, whether Marie was aware of it or not, she could still attract her fair share of young men. But because she focused solely on Double-D for the past 3 years, she had been oblivious to anyone else who may have liked her. Another component, more believably, may have been her unpredictable and sometimes volatile nature.

"Ed, what the hell are you drawing?" Eddy asked, pointing at Ed's colorfully bludgeoned piece of paper.

"I'm drawing my brain!" Ed replied, ever so happily.

Eddy laughed, "That's too big to be your brain!"

"So, do you really think Double-D will go to the party with us?" Ed asked, completely oblivious to Eddy's remark.

"Don't sweat it, bird-brain, he's goin'!"

Eddy figured Double-D probably wouldn't be into the whole 'party' thing, but he knew that Double-D always enjoyed spending time with his close friends and with just a little persuasion, he could definitely talk Double-D into it, even if it was at Kevin's house.

Kevin, the kid who used to hate the Eds, had befriended Eddy after a very successful scam they executed about a year back that made Kevin and the three Eds a lot of money.

"Yo, Marie!" Lee barked, "You don't seem as enthusiastic as usual. Don't you wanna see your man?"

Marie took a moment to seriously think about the question. Part of her definitely wanted to see Double-D, but another part of her really didn't. Marie had enough sense to know that Double-D wasn't really 'her man' despite how good it made her feel to say it. She knew she was left with no other option so if her sisters were going to this party, so was she.

"Yeah!" May exclaimed, "I can't wait to be with my big Ed tonight!"

"Of course I do!" Marie said, annoyed as she rubbed her eyes, "I'm just a lot more tired today than usual."

"Well perk up, toots!" Lee said, "We have a party to go to tonight!"

Lee got up walked over to Eddy, who was too distracted by his own laughter to notice Lee approaching him. May followed her and Lee put her mouth right up to Eddy's ear.

"Hey, baby-face…" She said, seductively.

Eddy jolted. "Kanker!"

Startled by Lee's presence, Eddy tipped over in his chair. Lee giggled at him.

"I hear you're going to a party tonight."

"Yeah, and we think you guys could use some dates." May said as she sat on Ed's desk, scratching his chin and making a kissy-face at him.

"Kanker bad for Ed!" Ed yelled as he took shelter under his desk.

"Don't bother, Kanker!" Eddy said, "You're not invited!"

"Oh, don't be like that, squirt."

The bell started ringing, indicating the official start of winter break. Many students can be heard stampeding and cheering throughout the halls.

"I'll see you tonight, my little man." Lee said, blowing Eddy a kiss.

"Bye, big Ed!" May said.

Lee and May walked towards the door. When Lee noticed that she was one Kanker short, she turned her attention over to Marie, who was taking her sweet time getting ready to leave.

"Marie!" Lee yelled, "What's takin' ya so long?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut your trap, I'm comin'!"

"Just meet May and I at the courtyard! Come on, May."

Lee and May walked out into the hustle and bustle of the other students.

Marie didn't have much stuff out to gather in the first place, as she spent her whole day sleeping, especially in study classes. Today was an off-day for her. She didn't really know why and normally, she wouldn't give a rough day much thought. But when her sisters even remotely sense something's amiss, she knows that that was when something was going on with her that required a little more attention…only this time she couldn't really figure it out. She figured she'd go along with her sisters to the party to take her mind off of herself, even though she was very uninterested in the idea. The only thing that was barely motivating her at all was the fact she would see Double-D there. But with this thought, came the inevitable conclusion of Double-D avoiding her. Deep down, this was an outcome that Marie grew to live with, as long as she got to smother Double-D with as much of her affection as possible.

"I'll see you guys later tonight." Kevin said, getting up to leave, "I've got plenty of beer, but you can bring your own booze if you want. Later, DORKS! Hahaha."

Eddy laughed, "Oh, that Kevin! Cracks me up!"

Eddy noticed Ed still quivering under his desk. "Come on, Mono-brow, the Kankers are gone now." Eddy glanced at Marie, then back to Ed, "Except for that one, so let's go!"

Eddy pulled Ed out from desk under his desk by the eyebrow and they headed for the door.

"Eddy, are eye-brows and eye-lashes cousins?" Ed asked, with a dead serious look on his face. Eddy stopped, turned to Ed, stared at him blankly for a couple seconds, then turned back around.

"Um…sure, Ed."

Ed smiled and they continued on their way. Right as they left the classroom, Double-D showed up with an excited look on his face, winded from maneuvering through the flow of students. They decided to wait for the rush in the hall to die down, so they waited outside the door.

"Greetings, gentlemen! Are you as excited for this break as I am?"

Eddy raised a brow.

"Gee, Double-D. Not quite the reaction I was expecting from you. I thought you'd be bawling your eyes out at this point!" Eddy joked.

"Oh nonsense, Eddy! I always take full advantage of breaks to study and prepare as much as possible for the latter half of the school year!" Double-D said happily, "That is of course, when we're not doing scams." He added, in a flat tone.

Eddy looked at Double-D with a stern face. He put his fingertips together in front of him and delivered his lecture in a very direct, slightly condescending tone.

"Double-D...that's why, they call it, a 'BREAK'. A break from studying, a break from homework, and best of all; a break from school…and you want to waste it by studying the whole time?"

"Well, perhaps on Christmas I could-"

"Double-D..." Eddy continued, in a softer voice, as he wrapped his arm around Double-D, "We have a week and a half a freedom and we need to have some fun. We have all the time in the world to study or pull scams or whatever…" Double-D shot him a confused look, catching Eddy's implication that he's about to put something before his scams. _Very unusual for Eddy, _Double-D thought. He was sort of relieved but also a bit unnerved at the uncertainty of what that could mean.

"Well, uh, w-what did you have in mind, Eddy?" Double-D was literally asking for it at this point.

"Well, Sockhead, I'm glad you asked." Eddy said as he walked back to Ed's side, "What has a lot of people, booze, and girls?_"_

Double-D cocked his head and looked up, thinking about the question. "Uh…"

"A brothel?" Ed guessed.

Both Eddy and Double-D stared at Ed in disbelief. Eddy face-palmed as Double-D decided to break the awkward silence.

"Ed, how in the world do even know what that is?"

Ed placed his finger on his lip for a few seconds.

"I don't. haha!"

Just then, Marie walked out of the room, putting on her leather jacket. After she stopped fighting with it, she froze after she realized that she had inadvertently bumped into Double-D. _Smooth, bitch, _she thought to herself.

Although it was through no fault of his own, Double-D's manners got the best of him.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry, are you…" Double-D stopped when he realized who it was that had bumped into him. Double-D's eyes widened and he froze.

Eddy gritted his teeth and uttered the name 'Kanker' under his breath, as if her last name was of some demonic nature.

Marie was shocked at first but quickly went into 'Kanker' mode, because that's really the only way she knew how to interact with him. Although, she figured she should try and play it down as much as she could, but for some reason, she was nervous around Double-D right now. Marie knew this particular situation was circumstantial and it had caught her off guard, but her thoughts were racing. All she did was give Double-D a coy smile and started twisting a lock of her blue hair.

"Oh, uh, H-Hello, Marie."

This was her cue.

"Hiya, Dreamboat." She said in very soft voice, almost alluring. This alone gave Double-D a small sense of ease. Marie noticed the tension leaving his body, as his shoulders went back down and his eyes softened, with only a small amount of worry still left on his face. He still knew who he was talking to.

Marie slowly raised her hand towards Double-D's face.

"What are you doing, Kanker?" Eddy growled.

Marie completely ignored Eddy and put her hand on Double-D's face. He winced a bit, but let her continue. After all, he knew that any wrong move on his part could rile her up, despite her uncharacteristically docile behavior at the moment, and that was the last thing he wanted.

_He's so cute, _Marie thought to herself. She started to gently caress his cheek with her thumb for a few seconds and then slowly pulled her hand away from his face, lightly dragging her fingertips across his cheek. She picked up her book bag and started to walk away. Before she left, she put her hand his arm and looked into his eyes. A gaze she never liked to break.

"I'll see you tonight, cutie pie." She said, before walking away.

"Goddamn it! I told your sisters they're not invited and that means you too!" Eddy yelled.

Marie didn't say anything back. She just continued walking only giving Eddy the finger over her shoulder.

Eddy growled.

"I hate those stupid Kankers!_"_

Double-D was puzzled. _What does she mean she'll 'see me tonight'? _Double-D thought. Then it started to hit him.

"Eddy, do you know anything about this?" He asked, pointing towards Marie.

"Well, Sockhead, I was getting to that, but Marie ruined it."

"Eddy, what's going on?"

"Kevin's having a party at his house and we're invited! Whaddya say, Double-D? Huh?" Eddy said, lightly jabbing Double-D with his elbow.

"Kevin's having a—oh I don't know Eddy, parties are so—"

"So 'what'? This will be our first high school party and you want to bail on it?"

"Well, Eddy, I mean I guess I could drop by or—"

"Please, Double-D!" Ed yelled, clasping Double-D in his arms as hard as he could, "Come on, it'll be fun Double-D, I promise!"

Being caught in a deathly bear hug from Ed, he struggled, but managed to speak. "Well…Ed, I suppose…so…you can let go of me now!"

Ed dropped Double-D to the floor.

"Come on, Double-D, it'll be fine. We'll get some beers in ya, you'll talk to some chicks and you'll have the time of your life!"

"But, Eddy, I've never drank a beer before and also, none of us are even old enough to consume alcoholic beverages!"

"So what? That doesn't mean anything! Come on, guys! Let's get out of here! We've got lots of work to do for tonight." Eddy said as he and Ed entered the still dense crowd of people.

Double-D lets out a long sigh and proceeds to catch up with them.

"Peer pressure is one force to be reckoned with, I imagine." He said to himself.

"Hurry up, Sockhead!" Eddy yelled.

"But friendship is definitely a blessing." With this, he smiled and caught up with Ed and Eddy.

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Thank you for reading, guys!


	2. Chapter 2

First off, I would like to thank you guys for the kind words and the suggestions you've given me to help me improve my writing. I was surprised to get any reviews this soon! One chapter in and already you guys have been great! I did away with the italicizing of quotes and I switched everything I could to past tense. So, I went over my first chapter numerous times trying to fix all the bugs. I'm not sure if I caught everything but it looks good to me now. I did, however, come to realize how much of a pain in the ass it is to go back and edit a chapter on FF. But hey, what can you do?

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**Chapter 2: Bury All Your Secrets in My Skin**

The Kanker sisters arrived at their trailer. Lee flung the door open and threw her book bag to the side.

"Okay, girls, let's get ready!" Lee commanded.

May was giddy, but Marie just rolled her eyes.

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna take nap." Marie said.

"You've been sleeping all day, Marie, how are you still tired?" Lee asked.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because of my idiot teachers waking me up every two minutes." She replied in a harsh tone.

Lee decided not to agitate Marie any further as she had too many other things to worry about at the moment.

Marie set her book bag down and lied down on the couch, kicking off her boots as Lee and May headed upstairs.

"Just don't sleep for too long, Marie." Lee said, "I wanna be out of here by 7, so make sure you're ready by then!"

Marie turned over and closed her eyes. "Lee, it's a quarter after 3 and it doesn't take me a day and a half to get ready like you two." She said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go, May."

Lee and May continued upstairs.

May stared at Marie with a concerned look as she followed Lee. As soon as they entered the room, Lee immediately started to undress.

"Geez, what is with her lately?" Lee asked, "Is it me or has Marie gotten bitchier?"

May snickered at her. "Well, not any more than you at least!"

Lee threw her shirt in May's face. "Shut up, May."

May tossed the shirt aside, still laughing at Lee.

"Well? What do you think?" Lee continued.

"I think Marie's been sad lately." May replied.

Lee scoffed. "About what? She has it great here!"

"I know, but…I don't know. I'm kinda worried about her though." May replied.

"Well, she has been a little off lately. I think it's just the cold weather and Marie's never really cared for the winter. I wouldn't worry about her though, She'll be happy when she sees Double-D tonight." Lee stepped into the bathroom, "Although…whatever ends up happening with them, it probably won't last long anyway."

May looked up at her. "Wait, why not?" She asked.

Lee paused for a few seconds turned her head a little at May. "I, uh…I don't know, forget I said anything." She said as she closed the bathroom door. For once, May didn't protest that Lee was using the shower first as it was usually something they would quarrel over.

May might have been slow, but she was perceptive and her emotions never lied to her. She knew something was up with Marie and now she felt like Lee was hiding something.

May had always been that way when she was growing up with her sisters. She was always able to sense whenever Lee and Marie were upset, no matter how well they hid it. Marie was better at hiding it as she mostly bottled her emotions so others didn't think she was weak. But even so, May always picked up on it. The only problem was that she never really learned how to console people with her words, but ever since she was little, she had been a very nurturing person, mostly to her sisters. At least when she wanted be. Maybe not so much with Lee because May learned early on that Lee could take of herself emotionally and could always get over something that was troubling her rather quickly. Marie, on the other hand, carried a lot of emotional baggage. May knew Marie was strong, but she never managed her emotions properly like Lee and that worried May a lot.

May sat on the bed for a moment, thinking to herself. She decided to go talk to Marie, but she didn't know what she was going to say, but it had to be done. May had a good heart and she loved her sisters to death, despite them tormenting her at times. She knew that even something as little as a hug could really cheer someone up.

Lee was known for her absurdly long showers and their mother had her own bathroom in her bedroom downstairs, but May didn't like using that one. Plus, Marie claimed it as her own as she would never, in her right mind, share a bathroom with two other girls. May knew how territorial Marie was and she respected that. Their mother was the only other person who was allowed to use it, so May had some time to kill.

As May headed downstairs, she stopped on the steps and reconsidered for a moment when she saw Marie. She had forgotten that Marie decided to take a nap and the last thing she wanted to do was to have to wake her up. It had only been about ten minutes since Marie had lied down, but she was already out cold and could be heard snoring rather audibly. May continued and walked over to Marie, looming over her, unsure if she should carry on. May gently put her hand on Marie's shoulder and shook her as lightly as she possibly could.

"Marie…" May whispered, "Marie?" Slightly louder.

Marie was completely unresponsive. May decided that a second attempt was out of the question. She figured she should let Marie sleep for now. Plus, the consequences of waking Marie from a deep sleep, especially after only ten minutes, could be a dangerous move.

May instead grabbed a small blanket and threw it over Marie. She brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead. May then went into Marie's bathroom and made sure everything was neat and set up for her when she woke up and got herself ready. May came back into the room, turned on the T.V. for Marie, and headed back upstairs.

_So here I am, on a beach. I'm not exactly sure where I'm at. San Diego? Miami? The Bahamas? Shit, maybe Galveston or South Padre? Who knows? I was lying down, letting the warm sun soak into my body and listening to the gentle waves. The tide must have been getting higher because the waves sounded like they were getting closer and louder. I looked over to my right. My heart raced as I saw Double-D lying beside me. I laughed as I saw that he was still wearing that beanie. He was lying there with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. I stared at him for a couple minutes as he lied there motionless. I was watching his stomach rise and fall as he breathed. I could do this forever. Something at the corner of my eye broke my concentration. I looked out into the ocean to see a giant waterspout. It was really amazing! Personally, I'm afraid of tornadoes, especially since I live in a trailer park, but waterspouts never seemed as bad. I turned over to tell Double-D so he could see it, but I realized that he wasn't beside me anymore. He was gone, his towel was gone, and not a single trace was left behind. I looked around, wondering where he could have gone. I looked in the distance and squinted. I saw that Double-D had repositioned about 100 feet away. For some reason this didn't seem the least bit unusual and I didn't even begin to ponder why or more importantly, HOW he did that. I simply got up, picked up my things and walked over to him. Once I set everything back up, I went to lie down and I noticed he was gone again. I saw him in the distance only this time he seemed to be further away. This time I ran to him, but as I got closer, he seemed to move farther away. It suddenly became very dark and cloudy. I started picking up speed as a really heavy downpour broke out from above me, obscuring my vision. Double-D was slowly disappearing behind the rain. I eventually broke through the rain. It was nice and sunny again on the other side, but somehow still pouring rain behind me…even the sand on this side was completely dry. Still, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I looked around and Double-D was nowhere to be seen. I turned around and stared at the giant wall of rain, admiring its beauty. It was like a waterfall from a crystal clear sky. I then looked straight ahead as I saw a figure emerging from the wall of rain. It was Double-D._

"Marie!" _he yelled, seemingly out of breath,_ "Why were you running?"

_Before I could reply, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a short guy with three hairs sticking out of his head. He got right in my face…_

"KANKER!"

Marie awoke with a small jolt. She quickly took in her surroundings and relaxed once she realized where she was. She threw the blanket off of herself and sat up.

"What a weird fuckin' dream." She uttered.

Marie gazed at the T.V. which had 'King of The Hill' on the screen and then at the clock which read 4:03. Marie looked out the window and was disgusted to see that it was already getting dark outside.

Feeling a little more refreshed, she stood up, stretched, and headed for her bathroom. Upon entering, she paused when she noticed how neat it looked. Everyone, including Marie, knew that she wasn't exactly the neatest person. Not dirty or anything, just a little messy.

The sink and counter had been cleaned and all of her toiletries and brushes were nice and organized, along with her mother's. There were even a few candles lit, so she didn't even bother turning on the bathroom light.

Since she knew Lee wouldn't do something like that and her mother hadn't been home all day, she figured it had to have been May. Although she didn't understand why May had done that, she was touched by the sentiment. Marie started to undress and neatly folded her clothes on the toilet bowl lid.

She was about to step into the shower when she heard a pounding sound from upstairs followed by May's voice.

"Lee!" May shouted, "You've been in there for almost an hour! Come on, hurry up! It's my turn!" Followed by more pounding.

"I'll be out in a couple minutes, don't lose your head!" Lee shouted back.

May continued to bang on the door, even harder. "LEE!"

Marie started giggling at the insanity going on upstairs. She glanced over at the toilet, then flushed it.

"Wait for it…" said Marie.

A few seconds later, Lee started screaming.

"Ahhhhh! COLD! MARIE!"

Marie started laughing hysterically. "Oh my God, it never gets old!" She said.

Once she heard the water upstairs turn off, she stepped into the shower.

"Thanks, Marie!" May yelled.

"No problem, May!" Marie yelled back, "Lee, if there isn't any hot water left, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"I'll show you!" Lee yelled as she flushed the upstairs toilet, attempting to get Marie back.

Marie just grinned. "It doesn't work from up there, stupid!"

Marie turned the water on, made sure it was hot, and then initiated the shower. She stepped into the flow of water and let it gently stream down her body. She braced herself against the wall with her hands, closed her eyes and lifted her head up. The water felt nicer than usual and she became very relaxed, almost as if the water was washing her troubles away. The candles also created a soothing atmosphere. She put her face under the stream and rubbed her face, then she turned around and lifted her head back to get her hair wet. She looked forward and smiled when she saw that May had even organized all her shampoos, conditioners, and body washes so nicely in the shower-caddy. Marie snickered when she saw her mother's pack of cigarettes on the rack as well. Marie thought about lighting one up in the shower, but immediately decided against it.

_Mom probably counts them, _she thought, wisely.

Marie started washing and conditioning her hair, followed by her body wash. After several minutes she rinsed herself off. She watched as all the soap glided off of her body and drifted into the drain. She looked down at her feet. She had a dark red nail polish on her toes to match her fingers, but the thing that Marie was focusing on was the tattoo of a blue sparrow on her right foot. It appeared to be swooping down towards her other foot with tiny black stars trailing behind it.

Marie had received her tattoo as a birthday gift earlier in the year from her uncle who was a tattoo artist, which was also the only reason she could get any ink at all since she was still too young. On top of that, it was free. She couldn't have felt luckier at the time, except for the pain from the actual tattoo process which, even for a tough chick like Marie, was borderline unbearable.

The blue sparrow was Marie's first tattoo and it meant a lot to her. The blue sparrow was supposed to be an embodiment of herself and it symbolized her journey through life and that she has a long way to go.

Marie may have been prone to extreme violence or at times, be a sexual harassment liability, but she was deep. She loved poetry, she loved music, she loved art; Hell, she had even been playing guitar for a couple years and recently started trying to write her own songs. On top that, she can sing rather well. Most people just do these things for the fun of it and not take it seriously, but Marie loved to immerse herself into a song or a poem, analyzing every lyric or line and deciphering what they could mean. When she wrote her own material, she usually ended up crumbling the piece of paper after writing about 2 or 3 lines out of embarrassment. But to her credit, she never gave up trying.

When the rest of the soap had left her body, Marie turned the shower off, grabbed her towel and stepped out. She could hear the water running upstairs and she knew May was in the shower now. Marie wanted to thank May for cleaning up the bathroom, so as a 'thank you', she flushed the toilet, and waited.

Sure enough, May started screaming, "OH MY GOD! IT'S COLD! MARIE! WHY!?

Marie laughed again, "I love you, May!"

Marie stood in front of her mirror and started brushing her hair until it was completely dry. Once it started 'poofing', she parted her hair over her right eye as per usual. When she opened the door, she was greeted by Lee and May who had their arms crossed with mischievous looks on their faces. After a few seconds of silence, Marie spoke up.

"What do you knuckleheads want?"

"So, you think you're fuckin' funny, huh Marie?" Lee asked.

"How did you guess?" Replied a smug Marie, smirking devilishly at her sisters.

"Yeah, we'll show you funny!" May said as her and Lee grabbed Marie and threw her on the bed. They all wrestled around on their mother's bed for a little bit trying to pin Marie. Lee and May struggled to do so as they tend to forget how unbelievably strong their middle-sister actually is.

This was a girl who, as a 14 year old freshmen at the time, had gotten suspended several times for beating up senior jocks. Marie wasn't afraid of anybody, no matter how big they were and she had never lost a fight. The closest she came to losing a fight was when she had gotten into an altercation with Sarah in middle school. The fight was broken up by Jimmy, as he pulled Sarah away. Marie will even admit that Sarah is one tough little cookie. She even said once that the bigger you are and the 'badder' you _think_ you are, the bigger the pussy you are. This was the attitude she adopted when she decided to stop bullying other people.

Needless to say, Marie almost effortlessly overpowered her sisters and managed to tie them up with their mother's bed sheet.

"That makes me 4-0 for this month girls!" Marie cackled at them and then proceeded to her room upstairs.

Marie threw her towel off and sat down on her bed. She removed her gauges to dry them off thoroughly then put them back in her earlobes. She put on some new undergarments and went over to her closet to try and decide what she wanted to wear. After a couple minutes of sifting through her closet, she decided to go with her usual red and black miniskirt and black leggings but she didn't really want to go with her usual band t-shirts. She stumbled upon a white sweater with a fake flower clipped to it. It was part of the outfit she wore the first time Double-D and the other Eds were at her trailer. She really loved that sweater and she couldn't remember why she stopped wearing it.

Marie threw on the sweater, which was a little tighter on her now but she figured that it was an added benefit at this point, and put the flower in her hair. She walked over to the mirror to make any necessary adjustments. The only make-up she applied was her blue eye-shadow and some mascara. She backed away from the mirror bit and sized herself up. She genuinely felt beautiful. She looked beautiful. But the burning question in the back of her mind still lingered, _Will Double-D think the same?_

Marie jumped as she heard pounding on her door.

"Ma-RIE!" Lee yelled, "Untie us!"

Marie opened the door to see Lee and May struggling to get loose. May had gotten herself loose for the most part, only her ankle was still caught. Marie knelt down to help May get her foot out. She smiled at May, remembering what she did for her. May stood up and walked over to Marie's mirror to fix her hair.

"You're such a bitch, Marie!" May said, playfully.

"Now get me out of here!" Lee demanded.

"Maybe you should go to the party like that! " Marie mocked, "You look like Christmas present!"

"Damn it, Marie!"

"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in bunch!"

Marie untied the knot and Lee ripped the sheet off of herself. Lee paused when she noticed Marie's outfit.

"You're goin' like that, Marie?" Lee asked.

"Yeah? What of it?"

"Are you sure? Why don't we find you something out of my closet?"

Marie was getting visibly annoyed. "Hell, no."

"Why not?"

Marie started laughing. "Because, I don't want to end up looking like a skank!"

Lee heard May trying to stifle her laughter. "Shut your mouth, May!" She yelled.

Lee walked towards her room. "You're _really _funny, Marie. At least my man will love what he sees!"

"Yeah, well don't forget about Eddy's lack of brain cells, sis." Marie said.

Lee slammed the door behind her as Marie stepped back into her room. May was still brushing her hair as she turned around to face Marie. "You look very pretty, Marie!" May said, "Double-D is gonna melt when he sees you!"

"Aw, thanks May! So do you! I just hope Double-D thinks the same."

Marie approached May. "By the way, May…thanks for fixing up the bathroom for me." Marie gave May a big hug, "That was sweet of you."

"You're welcome, big sis!" She said with a slight blush.

As the hug ends, Marie looks at May and notices through her smile that something is on her mind.

"What's up?" Marie asked.

May looked at her, but didn't say anything.

Marie giggled. "What?"

"Marie, are you okay?

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, you just…you seem really down lately."

Marie hugged May again. "Oh, baby sister, everything's fine." Marie said, half lying and ending their second sisterly embrace. "It's just the winter weather…it gets to me sometimes."

"Yeah, that's what Lee told me." May said, a little unconvinced. There was a brief moment of silence between them until May broke it, "Well, I'm gonna finish getting ready. I gotta find something to wear!"

Marie nodded as May headed for the door.

"Hey, May?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to wear anything like Lee. She's gonna have to learn the hard way."

They both laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't."

May exited and Marie plopped down on her bed. She glanced over at the clock which read 6:05. Marie felt good, but she was also very nervous. It was still going to be awhile before Lee and May were finished, so Marie had some time to kill. She headed for her bathroom downstairs, grabbed a cigarette from the caddy, and went outside.

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Thanks for reading guys! You rock!


	3. Chapter 3

Happy New Years guys!

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**Chapter 3: Bittersweet Memories**

Double-D was sitting on Eddy's bed, apprehensive, mind racing at a mile per minute as he consciously tried controlling his jiggling leg. Double-D had a bit of anxiety about these kind of social gatherings, especially since he had never gone to one of this nature. It was one thing when he was with Ed, Eddy, and the other kids who lived in the cul-de-sac, but to be at someone else's house with a large group of people, half of which he wouldn't know, mixed with booze, didn't quite sit well with him. He didn't want to be that quiet, awkward person, minding his own business in the corner of the room while everyone else has a good time and he feared he would be exactly that.

Eddy was gelling up the three hairs on his head in front of the mirror as Ed was spinning around in Eddy's computer chair. Eddy looked at himself in the mirror with pride as his hair appeared to point straight back. He looked at Ed through the mirror, then turned to him.

"Ed, stop it! You're gonna break my chair!" Eddy yelled.

"Oh, It's okay, Eddy! I'm a professional!" Ed graciously affirmed as he appeared to pick up speed.

Eddy turned back to the mirror.

"Yeah, a professional dunce-cap." Eddy muttered.

Double-D figured his silence would soon become noticed, so he spoke up. "So, uh, Eddy, when are we planning on heading over to Kevin's house?" He asked.

"Well, Kevin said his parents wouldn't be leaving until around 6:30, 7 o'clock and he said he'd call me once they were gone." Eddy replied.

"But isn't Kevin worried that they might come back with everyone still at his house?"

"Nah, they're on their way to the airport. They're flying out to…I think El Paso? Something like that. Either way, they'll be out of town, so we'll be good to go."

"What's in El Paso, Eddy?" Ed asked.

"Cowboys, ED!" He replied sarcastically.

Eddy and Double-D turned to Ed after they heard a small crash. Ed had tipped over in the chair and somehow had broken off the headrest.

"Damn it, Ed!" Eddy yelled, "I told you that would happen! You owe me a new chair!"

"I can fix it, Eddy!" Ed exclaimed.

Double-D started laughing.

"No, Ed. Please don't." Eddy said, considerably calmer, turning back to the mirror, "This is why I can't have nice things."

Although appreciative of the momentary distraction, Double-D's thoughts went back into overdrive. He felt he needed some time to clear his head.

"Fellas, I need to run to my house really quick." Double-D said, hoping his delivery was believable.

Eddy glanced at Double-D.

"For what?"

"I've just realized I'm not completely comfortable in my current attire. I'm gonna go change."

"Why don't you just go through my closet? I've got plenty of outfits."

Double-D stood up.

"Eddy, need I remind you that you're still half my size." He said as he smirked at Eddy.

Eddy stared at Double-D for several seconds and bit his bottom lip.

"No, but thanks anyway, Sockhead." Eddy said bitterly.

"I'll be back momentarily." Double-D said as he exited the room.

"What are you laughing at, Lumpy?" Eddy asked as Ed was pointing at him, snickering.

"You're tiny, Eddy! Hahaha"

"Shut up, Ed."

Double-D trudged through the snow in Eddy's backyard and made his way to the sidewalk. Double-D looked ahead and watched the small flurries gently fall from the sky. He was happy that something was already taking his mind off of everything.

"Ahh, the beauty of mother nature." He whispered to himself.

Double-D had no intention of going to his house, despite it being exactly where he would rather be at the moment. He instead continued down to the intersecting street and turned, heading towards the lane. He stopped once he approached it and looked down the lonely alleyway, which was partially illuminated by the streetlight above his head.

Without hesitation, he decided to take a stroll down the lane, as it had been plowed pretty well unlike the rest of the sidewalk ahead of him on the main road. As he headed down the lane, he realized how strange it was without any of the cul-de-sac kids there. Typically, when he found himself in the lane, he was with Ed and Eddy and it was usually filled with the rest of the kids. But right now it was absolutely silent and lifeless. So silent, in fact, that he thought if he listened close enough, he could probably hear the flurries hitting the ground. Needless to say, his logic voided this intention, but he was amused by the thought.

Double-D was already behind the fence to Ed's house and figured he'd just go a little further. He slowed down once he noticed the trailer park off to his right. Naturally, the one thing that popped into his mind was 'Kankers', although this time, it didn't seem to bother him much. After all he was really enjoying his walk. He saw that even his most feared area of Peach Creek looked nice and peaceful. 2 of the 3 streetlights in the trailer park that were actually working elegantly illuminated the area. The Christmas lights were also adding a very nice touch to the trailer homes. He considered taking a walk through the trailer park, but immediately thought against it for obvious reasons.

Double-D stopped when he noticed a tiny orange light in the darkness moving past one of the trailers as it seemed to grow and then fade. Double-D was puzzled. The light came back a moment later, only this time it was stationary, then it faded again.

"Oooooh…a strange anomaly." He said, with apparent intrigue. It took him a second to realize that it was just somebody out for a walk, holding some sort of glowing object.

At this point, Double-D felt like he should head back, but for some reason he found himself fixated on this dark figure. Again, he saw the strange light grow, fade, and then fall to the side. He felt a strange connection with this individual, despite not knowing who it was. He sensed that he or she felt lost, much like him at the moment.

"Just hang in there." He said quietly, "Poor soul."

He soon became uncomfortable when he felt like this person was staring back at him, so he quickly turned around and headed back down the lane. He glanced over one more time and watched as the orange light flew into the air and fell to the ground, disappearing into the snow. The figure then moved into the light just as the beginning of a fence obscured Double-D's line of sight.

As he walked back, those nagging thoughts about the party started to come back and he immediately became a little flustered as a result. He tried to shake the thoughts away, but they persisted. The drunken teenagers, the strangers, the loud music, the Kankers.

_The Kankers…oh, brother._

It had just now hit him. He had forgotten all about the Kankers, despite just having been near the trailer park and for odd some reason, they seemed to be the least of his concerns. He found that to be quite strange…he actually felt a bit of relief, as a matter of fact. He knew that they would inevitably show up at the party, create a scene of some sort, and ultimately keep everyone's attention off of him.

_Maybe this will work out after all, _He thought.

Double-D turned onto the main road as the lane came to an end. Just then, another thought hit him.

_Marie…_he thought. _She will probably be all over me. _He thought about this for a moment, stopping in his tracks.

"Whatever." He said, "It is what it is, I guess."

From then on, Marie kept popping into his mind, almost like she did in reality when she would attack him with all her affection. At first he used to hate it, but over the last few years he grew to live with it. He actually enjoyed it sometimes, usually on days where he was feeling down and he didn't care where the attention came from. He was, however, smart enough to not let Marie know that. Otherwise, she would probably be all over him 24/7. He couldn't believe what he was thinking, but he was actually starting to look forward to seeing her.

Double-D turned onto the cul-de-sac and headed for Eddy's house. As he approached, he saw Ed and Eddy leaving through the front door.

"Hey, Double-D!" Eddy said, "Perfect timing! Kevin's parent's left early and said that everyone can come over now." Eddy looked Double-D over for a second. "I thought you were changing?"

"Oh, I Uh…I changed my mind." Double-D replied, "These will do just fine."

"Whatever floats your boat, Sockhead. All right, boys, let's do this!"

With reality setting in, Double-D immediately wanted to abandon ship, but he pushed himself and they all headed for Kevin's house which was conveniently located right next door to Eddy's.

Ed wrapped his arm around Double-D. "We're gonna have so much fun, aren't we Double-D?"

Double-D attempted to add as much emotion into his response as possible, "We sure will, Ed!" He said, figuratively patting himself on the back.

Double-D was somewhat pleased that it only took them ten seconds to reach Kevin's front door, as it gave him no time to stress about or over think the situation.

Eddy rang the doorbell and pounded on the door. "Hey, KEV! Open up! We're here."

A few seconds went by with no response. Eddy started hitting the doorbell multiple times and pounded on the door some more. "Kevin! Front door! C'mon, you squared-jawed fuck! It's cold out here!"

"There's no need for vulgarity, Eddy. Kevin's probably in the middle of something." Double-D said.

Then, from out of nowhere, a snowball pelted Eddy right in the head, knocking him off his feet.

"DORKS! Hahahaha!"

Ed and Double-D turn to see Kevin at the side of his house, doubled over with laughter.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Ed happily announced as he started throwing snowballs back at Kevin.

Kevin's laughter quickly turned into terror as he saw Ed charging at him, firing snowballs at him at the rate of a machine gun. Double-D and Eddy ran after them into Kevin's backyard, everyone now throwing snowballs at each other. Eddy teamed with Double-D as Kevin and Ed remained solo. It was now 2 on 1 on 1.

Eddy was sloppily throwing snowballs at Kevin as Kevin tried to hit Ed. Double-D was taking his time making sure each snowball he made was a perfect sphere before he pitifully lobbed it. Kevin had trouble getting in a good shot at Ed, who seemed to be going only for him, so he decided to team up with Eddy and Double-D.

"Eddy! Double-D!" Kevin yelled, "I'm coming to your side! I need covering fire!"

"Not a chance shovel-chin!" Eddy laughed as he pelted Kevin with another snowball. Eddy immediately regretted that decision when he saw Kevin charging at him with a crazy war-face.

"Easy, Kev!"

"Doooooork!" Kevin yelled as he tackled Eddy to the ground. Kevin and Eddy wrestled around in the snow until the barrage of Ed's snowballs come hurdling towards them.

"Uh, fellas, a little help, please!" Double-D said, shielding himself as best he could.

Kevin and Eddy stopped wrestling and shifted their attention to Ed, throwing snowballs back at him. Their resistance was indeed futile, as Ed's incredible fire power was overwhelming. Realizing this, Eddy decided to call the game. "Uh, okay, Ed!" He yelled, "You win! Stop hitting us!"

"Cease fire, Ed!" Double-D added.

Ed didn't stop at all. He continued to hit them and started to get a little carried away when he started throwing objects other than snowballs.

"ED! STOP!" Eddy and Double-D yelled in unison.

Just like that, Ed completely froze, as if turned off by a voice activated switch.

"Whoa." Kevin said, dusting the snow off of himself, "That Ed sure is a killer, huh?"

"YES, I AM!" Ed said with a small chuckle.

"Let's get inside. It's cold out here." Eddy said.

Kevin walked over to his backdoor. "C'mon, we're hangin' in my basement before the party gets here. I need some help setting up a few more things."

"You mean no one is here yet?" Eddy asked, annoyed.

"Yeah, dork. You beat everyone here since you live right next door."

They all walked into Kevin's basement, which was really big and nicely set up with Christmas lights, Eddy's mirror ball, which Eddy had lent him, and a giant sound system. There were also two big couches and several chairs set up around the room and there was also a small room off to the side with multiple coolers and bags of ice scattered about.

"Well, when are they comin'?" Eddy asked.

"Just chill, man." Kevin said, "I texted everyone from the cul-de-sac and they should be here any minute and my buds from Logan and Madison High should be on their way."

"How the hell do you know them?"

"I play football, twerp. That means I have to play at different schools sometimes, so I know some people."

"I bet you play soccer, you wuss."

"Funny…for a dork." Kevin entered the room with the coolers. "Can you guys start filling these coolers with ice? I'm gonna grab the beer from the garage."

"Sure, thing Kev." Eddy said.

Just then, Eddy just remembered something important.

"Wait, Kev!" He said, "What about the Kankers?"

"What about them?" Kevin didn't seem at all concerned.

Eddy was dumbstruck by the question. "What do mean 'what about them'? You know they're gonna show up even though we told them not too!"

"Well, actually, you're the one who told them not too. Plus, I don't really mind and you wanted there to be girls here, right?"

"Yeah, but not the Kankers! What are ya?!"

"Dude, they've actually gotten pretty hot over the past couple years. Especially that May girl. We talk to each other at lunch every day and I think she likes me, man!"

Ed gave Kevin a stern look. Double-D caught it, unsure what to make of it.

"Wait, Kevin, what about Nazz?" Ed asked.

"Ya know, Nazz is cool and everything and you guys know we dated for a little while, but it just wasn't happenin', man." Kevin replied, as he headed upstairs. "I'm gonna start grabbin' the booze."

Eddy turned to Ed. "Well, Lumpy, At least guess _you_ got nothing to worry about tonight."

"But Eddy, May wanted to be _my_ date tonight." Ed replied.

Eddy was growing more perplexed and annoyed by the second.

"Ed, why do you even care? She's a Kanker!"

"I, uh…I don't know." Ed truly looked upset, as if just now starting to realize that a girl having a crush on him isn't necessarily a bad thing. He felt as if he had some sort of attachment with May that, for some reason, had gone unnoticed until now.

Eddy ignored this and started tearing open the bags of ice.

"Come on, guys, help me out with these." Eddy demanded.

"Right-o, Eddy." Double-D said, as he began assisting Eddy.

Ed stood there for a second, a small tear welling up in his eye. "May good for Ed." He said, affirmatively.

"Ed!" Eddy yelled, "Get in here!"

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Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Still with me there? So this chapter gave me a little trouble and is a tad shorter, but I finally got it down. I didn't really have much to work with and I also didn't want to rush the story. I just wanted to dive into Marie's head a little more before I got things moving. Things will start picking up more in chapter 5. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Fear Is How I Fall**

_Okay…what, the fuck, are you staring at? _Marie thought as she was watching someone staring at her from the lane. She took a drag of her cigarette without breaking her gaze, trying to analyze what this particular individual was up to.

After a short moment, the person in question started walking away. Marie took one last drag and then flung her cigarette into the air.

"Freakin' weirdo." She said, as she started to head back to her trailer.

Marie carefully negotiated the few slippery steps to her door, kicking the snow off of her boots before she walked in. She took her boots off and sat on the couch.

_Man, this cold weather sucks. _Marie thought, _I wish I could live where it's warm year round._

Marie didn't hear much coming from upstairs, which probably meant Lee and May were almost ready. Although, that could still be a while from now. She glanced at the clock which read 6:47.

_I hope we can get out of here before Mom gets home…I probably shouldn't have taken 5 cigarettes from her and I'd like to NOT be here when she rolls around._

Marie wiped her runny nose with the back of her hand, catching a whiff of the smoky residue emitting from her fingertips. She immediately sprang for the bathroom and thoroughly washed her hands, to eliminate any risk of Double-D smelling it on her. She also added some more perfume just for good measure. She figured someone like Double-D is more than likely disgusted by smokers, which strangely added to her attraction towards him.

Marie didn't believe in the whole 'opposites attract' idea and that made her feel a little hypocritical since she knew that her attraction to Double-D definitely landed somewhere in that category. The way she saw it, he was Opera and she was Heavy Metal; he was water, she was fire; he was the sun, she was the moon. But if she could become _his_ everything, then what would it matter?

As Marie left the bathroom, she could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Lee. Marie was surprised to see Lee dressed up a little more 'conservatively' than she originally expected. Lee's hair was straightened and she was wearing a silky, burgundy sweater with denim pants. Granted, she had a lot more make up on than she really needed, she actually looked…presentable.

"Wow, Lee." Marie said, "I'm surprised you're not trying to show more…skin."

Lee laughed. "Well, sis, it's cold out there. Ill save the fancy stuff for the summer. May actually raided that part of my closet."

Realizing the irony, Marie brought a hand to her face and shook her head. Just then, May came downstairs wearing a glittery black halter top with short denim pants, complete with Uggs.

_Well, I guess I did tell her to NOT to dress like Lee, _Marie thought, _I love her to death, but God, is she dumb. I guess it isn't THAT bad._

"Hey, Marie! What do you think?" May asked as she did a 360 for her confused sister.

"You look…really nice, May." Marie replied, not even sure if she truly meant it, "But don't you think you'll be a little cold?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. May said, "I think Lee's gonna drive us anyway."

Marie laughed. "Ha! In what? That rusty, old, tin-can on wheels?"

"Hey!" Lee snapped, "Don't talk about my baby that way, Marie!"

Marie just rolled her eyes. If there was one thing Lee was passionate about, besides Eddy, it was her beloved car. She wore having a car like a badge of honor, since Marie and May weren't quite old enough to the drive yet. She felt it gave her a sense of superiority and Marie didn't take kindly to that kind of attitude, unless it was her own, of course. So ever since Lee received her car, Marie would always find ways to annoy her. Sometimes she would wait until the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep, steal Lee's car keys, and leave the car in random locations of the trailer park. When their mother put a stop to that, Marie found other ways to prank Lee like freezing her car keys in a water-balloon or by leaving the volume all the way up on the radio so it blasts when Lee would start the car.

"Lee, that thing looks like it couldn't hold the wait of someone sitting on it." Marie said, "If we have to take that damn thing, then go warm it up!"

"How 'bout you just walk if you're gonna have that attitude?" Lee asked, raising her voice a little. Marie was a little unnerved to hear the question in such a non-playful tone, even though she wasn't really trying to avoid agitating Lee to begin with. She silently agreed that maybe a walk was in order.

"Okay, fine." Marie said as she forced her boots back on, "I'd rather get there in one piece anyway."

"Whatever you say, Marie." Lee said.

Marie stormed out of the trailer, her dramatic exit catching the attention of her sisters.

"Seriously?" Lee questioned, "She's seriously gonna walk? I didn't really mean that! What is up with her?"

May shrugged with a glum look on her face.

"I don't know, Lee, but I think we should just let her be." May said, "I mean we don't really know what her deal is so maybe we should just give her some space.

May found a nice white hoodie to wear, but the fabric was so thin, it might as well have been a regular shirt.

Lee sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." There was a brief moment of silence between the two, with Lee taking another deep breath, she turned to May, and then continued. "Look May, Marie and I might bicker a lot, but you know I love her and I love you and I seriously think everything will be fine."

May wasn't used to hearing Lee talk like this. Her voice was low and smooth, as opposed to its usual gravelly-like properties. That statement put May at ease and she believed it, something that Marie wasn't able to do when they spoke earlier. But even still, she wasn't completely convinced. Everyone might say that everything is in tip-top shape but until she could figure it out for herself, she wasn't having it.

May didn't say anything, she simply nodded to Lee.

_I hope so… _May thought.

* * *

As Marie left the grounds of her trailer park, she rushed past the clearing, heading towards the lane. She slowed down when she felt her throat become narrow and started to feel very odd all of a sudden. When she exhaled, the air sputtered out of her in a choppy pattern with her bottom lip beginning to tremble. She came to a stop when she reached the lane and searched her jacket pockets to see if she had an extra cigarette. Luckily, for her, she had one left. She placed it in her mouth and lit it, completely forgetting that she had just washed her hands moments ago because of the smell.

The first two drags seemed to quell this odd feeling that she was having, but it didn't stay away. It rebounded, even stronger.

"What the fuck?" Marie said, her softened voice getting higher pitch. "Oh, my God…"

Marie started lightly sobbing and this concerned her a lot, considering that crying is not at all a part of her personality. What could it have been that just pushed her past her threshold? Marie couldn't figure it out at first, but then a peculiar thought hit her.

_Was it because of Lee? Was she just joking? Did I overreact?_

It seemed plausible, but it wasn't very easy for Marie's sisters to make her cry. All she knew at this point was that she and Lee had just bickered a little bit and she stormed out as a result and it wasn't typical for Marie to get upset over something like that. In fact, she usually found enjoyment in exacerbating the situation. But this time, her reaction to it was the exact opposite and it made her feel terrible. She took another drag of her cigarette as she appeared to calm down rather quickly.

"I'm losin' it apparently!" She said, with a small laugh and sarcastic smile. She would never admit it, but the cry made her feel a little better.

Marie continued down the lifeless lane, collecting herself. She fixed her eyes on some footprints she found in the snow.

_Must have been from the guy who was creeping on me earlier. _She thought, with an evil grin growing on her face. She figured she needed some kind of outlet.

_I'm think I'm gonna go find him and kick his ass!_

Marie followed the footsteps down the lane, all the way to the street.

"I feel like I'm getting warmer…" She said.

Marie turned onto the street and kept following the footprints. At first she became annoyed, but then grateful when she saw that the footprints lead into the cul-de-sac.

"Oh, it's was just one of these idiots." She hissed, smirking, "Good."

She continued forward until the footprints took her to someone's backyard. She hadn't been paying attention, so she ran back out front, stared at the house, and narrowed her eyes in confusion.

_Eddy?_

"Hey!" A voiced called out, almost causing Marie to jump out of her skin. She immediately cursed herself for getting so startled and quickly turned around to see a short blonde-haired girl in the street walking towards her. Marie looked closer, gritted her teeth, and rolled her eyes the moment she saw that it was Nazz.

"Oh, I'm sorry dude! I didn't mean to scare you! I was just gonna ask if you we're looking for the party."

Marie was caught off guard again, but Nazz was a little easier for her to deal with.

"Yeah, blondie!" Marie barked, growing annoyed, "I'm just, ya know, scoping out the place."

Nazz just laughed, aggravating Marie even more.

"Well, you're just one house too far. This is Eddy's place." Nazz said, taking a closer look at Marie, "You're Marie, right?"

"Um, yeah…I'm Marie. Marie Kanker."

Marie didn't understand exactly how Nazz was so calm around her. Usually, it was Marie's very own presence that instilled fear into others. Her presence was so strong that she could walk into a giant room, filled with people, and anybody who knew her would instantly know that she was there, whether they had seen her yet or not. Had her personality not been one to be feared, the said individuals would probably throw rose petals at her feet. Given Marie's nature, she'd most likely go with the former.

"Where are your sisters at?" Nazz asked, "You guys usually travel as a pack!"

Marie wasn't sure that she should answer the question, figuring that everyone knew that if you found one Kanker somewhere, the other two were in close proximity. Except that was exactly the case at the moment.

"I don't really know, to be honest." Marie said, running her fingers through her hair.

Nazz was looking at Marie intently.

"I like your outfit!" Nazz said, "And that little flower in your hair is so cute!"

"Oh, uh…thanks." Marie said, flatly.

Nazz's face turned to one of curiosity. "So, what are you waiting outside for?"

Before Marie could respond, Nazz interlocked her arm around Marie's and guided her towards Kevin's house. Marie was absolutely dumbfounded. First she was getting all these weird feelings, she was crying out of nowhere, and now here she was with Nazz, talking with her as if she were a close friend.

Marie started to feel as if her intimidating aura had worn off and that would explain why Nazz approached her. It was possible, all this change couldn't have happened in one day. Maybe others were starting to pick up on it. Then again, the way Nazz was behaving wasn't unusual. She wasn't mean, envious, spiteful, or hateful in any way, she was just a very confident, laid-back girl who was good at making friends and making others feel comfortable.

"Well, I actually wasn't invited." Marie replied, "My sisters and I usually crash these sort of things."

Nazz laughed. "Well, I wouldn't worry about it. Kevin said he doesn't really care who shows up, so it doesn't matter if he personally invited you or not."

Intense fear had stricken Marie as her and Nazz approached Kevin's house. She knew Double-D would be in there and she wasn't quite sure that she was ready to see him. Her confidence was completely gone and her prowess as a 'Kanker' was slowly diminishing.

Nazz was about to ring the doorbell, but stopped herself when she noticed a small sign on the door.

**Please come in through the back door. Thank you! ~Edd**

Marie didn't even read the note, she just stared at Double-D's name, with a warm smile growing on her face...For a second she played the note in her head with his voice.

"Hmm. Well it looks like we have to go through the back." Nazz said.

Marie had to find a way delay her entry into Kevin's house and she found herself unable to break Nazz's charms. Marie slipped her arm away from Nazz.

"Hey, um…I'm actually gonna stay outside for a little bit." Marie said.

"Are you sure?" Nazz asked, "It's kind of cold out here."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna wait for my sisters. You know how we like to make our own kind of entrance."

Nazz giggled and rolled her eyes. "Well, okay. But if you get too cold, just come on in!"

Marie nodded as Nazz started walking towards the backyard.

Marie was still perplexed by her interaction with Nazz.

_How the hell did Nazz, of all people, just do that? _Marie thought. _Don't I hate her? I mean I actually enjoyed her company! How? Just How? And why was I nervous talking to her? It's supposed to be the other way around and not just for her, for anybody!_

Marie frisked herself for an extra cigarette, but came up dry. She sighed.

_Shit. _

Marie looked around for moment. She saw more kids from the cul-de-sac leaving their houses, so she decided to walk across the street to Double-D's house and wait on his porch. She knew he was already at Kevin's, so she wasn't worried about him finding her there. She leaned back on her elbows, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky.

_What the hell is going on with me?_

x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o-x-o

It's gonna be a little bit longer before the next chapter is up, but I'll post it as soon as I can. Thanks for reading guys!


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